


What Comes With The Profession

by Szcay



Series: Spycraft [1]
Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Awkward Sexual Situations, Extremely Dubious Consent, M/M, Past Rape/Non-con, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Sex Under Orders, Sparring, hints of PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-07 11:44:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18619969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Szcay/pseuds/Szcay
Summary: Pike is insufferable. Tyler is certain the man harbours some sort of animosity towards him, personally.Or he was.Until a few moments ago.Turns out Pike doesn't entirely dislike Tyler after all. And Tyler's new job means he can't afford to pass up an opportunity to get closer to the captain...





	What Comes With The Profession

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Сервис должен быть на высшем уровне](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18223877) by [CommanderShally](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CommanderShally/pseuds/CommanderShally). 



> I could have flagged this as Rape/Noncon, but I didn't feel it was completely warranted. Am I wrong? Let me know. :)  
> Takes place at an _entirely_ vague point in the timeline. Written as something fun and easy while working on a long and demanding (and almost finished!) project. I just wanted something short and sweet (it's not sweet; I'm bad at sweet.) Hope you enjoy it!

Pike is insufferable. Tyler is certain the man harbours some sort of animosity towards him, personally.

Or he was.

Until a few moments ago.

Tyler had been at the gym, taking out his aggression on a dummy when the subject of so many of his frustrations spoke from behind him.

“Care to have a go against someone who can hit back?” As if it was nothing unusual. As if he didn’t spend his days undermining Tyler’s _legitimate_ work.

But Tyler is nothing if not competitive, especially when he has something to prove. “Anytime, captain.” He’s younger. Stronger, even after L’Rell’s procedures.

They started slow. Circling. Tyler was testing the waters. Pike wasn’t letting himself be baited, just patiently keeping his eyes locked to Tyler’s.

Tyler struck out with his right, a feint meant to catch Pike out. Pike dodged, but blocked Tyler’s follow-up left hook with his right arm. Tyler narrowly avoided a blow to his midsection, twisting and using the momentum to pull Pike off balance. He thought he had him, when Pike’s foot caught his leg and pulled it out from under him.

Tyler stumbled backwards, barely keeping his balance. He realised that Pike had purposely abstained from following through and was now watching with a smug expression.

“I underestimated you,” Tyler said, hiding his annoyance as he resumed his stance.

Pike smirked. “I expected more.”

Tyler advanced, succeeding to land a blow to Pike’s midsection and wishing they weren’t sparring, so he really could have made it hurt. Pike lived up to his name, old and sly, yet quick as a flash when he struck.

When Tyler finally managed to sweep his legs out from under him and pin him with an arm across his throat, he was breathing hard.

“Still expecting more?” he said, raising a mocking eyebrow.

He was prepared for Pike’s retaliation but couldn’t _quite_ counter it in time. Even as Pike twisted under him, Tyler was planning his next move – _land on your back, then keep the momentum, use your grip on his shoulder to_ – His back hit the carpet, hard, and Pike rolled on top of him.

A millisecond of sense-memory flashed though Tyler’s mind, not even a flashback, barely noticeable, but enough to break his concentration.

It was all it took for Pike to get a good grip on his right arm, the left pinned under him.

Tyler twisted, trying to break the grip. No use. Pike held him fast.

“Not so bad for an old man?” Pike was smiling now, sweat and triumph on his face.

He was using his entire body-weight to keep Tyler pinned and Tyler grimaced, thrilled with neither his defeat nor the fact that Pike was now sweating on him.

“Do you concede?” Pike asked, smile fading but eyes glittering with amusement.

Tyler wondered where the hell this apparent playfulness was coming from. “I concede,” he grumbled, expecting to be let up so the captain could watch him pick himself off the floor.

Pike didn’t move. There was a different intent in his eyes now.

_Oh._

Tyler should have said ‘Captain, I’m flattered, but…’ Before the war, that is what he would have done. But he’d been a different man then.

Pike flew a good few metres when Tyler shoved him off and got to his feet in one movement, adrenaline flooding his veins. He stood there, blinking, startled by his own reaction as well as Pike’s… interest.

“Ouch…” Pike was on his back. Strangely, he wore a small smile. “Point taken. Though a simple ‘I’m not interested’ would do, Mr Tyler.”

Tyler flushed. “Sorry. I…”

Pike raised a hand. “No, my bad. Forget it.” He was returning to the distant captain Tyler knew and loathed.

“I’m… going to…” Tyler made a vague gesture towards the showers, turning and fleeing his own awkwardness.

 

The violence of his reaction had startled him. It had sprung from an instinctive aversion, strong and visceral. Nothing he recognised.

It could only come from one place: Voq.

As he stands under the water – sonic feeling insufficient – he goes through his Klingon memories. He can’t recall having any homosexual experience, or even a conversation about the subject. There’s just a strong sense of aversion. Perhaps even revulsion.

Tyler shivers, despairing at finding yet another unappealing facet of Voq. He does, deep down, believe he’d been a good man. But he had so many dark sides that Tyler isn’t certain he would ever be able to defend that view to someone else.

Suddenly he remembers that Pike will likely come here as soon as he’s done with his workout. He quickly steps out of the shower with a towel around his waist.

“Well, that was interesting…”

Tyler doesn’t yelp. He _does_ jump, spinning in what feels like mid-air to face Georgiou.

She gives him a small smile, not hiding how her eyes roams his naked torso. “I trust you won’t let the opportunity pass you by.”

“What are you talking about?” he exclaims, snatching up his shirt and not caring if it gets wet.

“The captain likes you,” she says, as if he’s simple. “You should have seen his look when you turned your back. If regret had a face…”

“You were watching?” He almost says ‘spying.’

She shrugs. “This is a golden opportunity to gain his trust. I’m leaving soon; you need to step up your game.”

“What, by sleeping with him?” Tyler has almost regained his equilibrium, almost suppressed Voq’s unsavoury opinions. “Don’t be absurd.”

It isn’t that Pike is a man, it’s that the very idea of sleeping with someone to spy on them is offensive.

“Won’t you?” Georgiou begins to circle him like a cat. “I’ve read your file.”

Cold shame fills Tyler’s chest, even as he tells himself there’s no reason for it; he was only surviving. He raises his chin. “That was different.”

“Not so much. It was a tool then; it is a tool now. And used to ensure something much more important than the survival of a single man.” Her voice turns soft, dangerous. “I could make it an order…”

Tyler is very aware that he’s dressed only in a t-shirt and towel. Georgiou’s eyes are far too reminiscent of L’Rell’s right now. “Captain Leland gives the orders.”

“Do you think he won’t?” she says with mock innocence.

Tyler opens his mouth. Closes it. Leland _would_ agree with her.

Georgiou seems to sense his surrender, turns from mocking to pragmatic. “Do you need me to explain the act to you?”

“No.” Tyler’s face burns.

She seems almost to take pity on him then. “You can ask him to wait. Be the blushing virgin or the traumatised POW. Men like him loves to play the hero. Who knows, maybe he’ll settle for a few sweet kisses.”

_Kisses…_ Tyler nods miserably.

“I’m glad we understand each other.” Georgiou turns on her heel, leaving him half-dressed and dripping.

 

In the academy, Ash had become close with a guy in his class. They’d gotten along well, and one not-entirely-sober evening his classmate had asked Ash to stay the night. He’d known what he was getting into. Had wanted to see what it was like. It had been nice, but not more, and they’d gradually drifted apart after that.

It was the one time he had ever been with a man. Tyler couldn’t even remember his name now.

 

Pike acts completely ordinary the next shift on the bridge. He looks at Tyler with the same, judgemental eyes. It is enough to make him wonder if he’s imagined the whole encounter.

Except their rendezvous with Captain Leland is today.

Georgiou gives Tyler a significant look as she steps onto the transporter pad. “Don’t fuck up,” she says, before she dematerialises.

 

Tyler’s heart is in his throat. His stomach is trying to join it.

It is evening and he’s heading to Pike’s quarters, a padd for an excuse in his hand.

Why did he agree to this? Why did he agree to join Section 31 in the first place? He’s not certain he can do this again. _This,_ allow someone to use his body for their pleasure. He was fully Ash Tyler last time – or believed he was – but even Voq’s pragmatism doesn’t seem like it will be enough to keep him sane.

He’s in front of Pike’s door. He stands there for a long minute, hand refusing to touch the console.

Two crewmen pass by, laughing.

Tyler’s face burns. He looks strange, standing here.

_“Today is a good day to die,”_ he mutters under his breath, wishing death was all he faces.

Pike looks utterly taken aback when he opens the door, but quickly composes himself. As much as he can when he’s wearing a loose shirt and trousers rather than his Starfleet uniform.

“Agent Tyler, what are you doing here at this hour?”

He manages to express distrust for Tyler’s person and dislike for both the hour and the location he’s chosen to appear with that single sentence. Tyler is again wondering if he imagined what happened in the gym.

“May I come in?”

His tone is subdued enough that the captain’s expression doesn’t harden.

Pike’s quarters are bare, a reminder that his position here is temporary. The personal possessions are few and fails completely to distract. A blanket is thrown over the couch. The captain’s jacket lies on a chair.

The door hisses shut. Seclusion does nothing for Tyler’s nerves.

“What is so important it can’t wait until tomorrow?” Pike asks, stepping around Tyler to block his view of the room.

Tyler lowers his face, a subconscious gesture of submission that only makes him feel worse. “What happened yesterday, sir…” Was it really only yesterday? “I’m afraid I might have given you the wrong impression.”

Pike’s posture has stiffened while Tyler’s been talking, and now his expression is hard enough to break steel. “You made yourself quite clear, Mr Tyler. And as I recall, I apologised for mistaking your interest.”

This may be the hardest thing Tyler has ever had to say. “Sir, you’re misunderstanding.” He doesn’t think he’s called Pike ‘sir’ this much, ever.

Pike raises an eyebrow, looking unimpressed. “You’re joking.”

“I was surprised.” Tyler’s voice is just a mumble. “I didn’t realise…”

As through a miracle, something breaks through the flatness in Pike’s face. Uncertainty.

Tyler continues, though his face is on fire and he feels like he might vomit. This must be the least smooth seduction anyone has ever performed. “I’m not disinterested. Far from. I don’t know why I…” His throat constricts, physically preventing him from speaking.

Pike is watching him. His demeanour has gone from hard to blank. “I know something of Klingon culture. Not everyone’s okay with same-sex relations. And you’re Klingon.”

Tyler almost flinches, as every time someone reminds him that they view him as an alien.

“I’m human too.” Here, he finally allows himself to protest; the vulnerability it costs is only useful.

Pike is silent for a moment. Weighing Tyler’s words. Then, slowly, he lifts one hand, telegraphing his movements. Tyler is still as Pike’s hand touches his cheek. Leans in a little to the touch. It’s frightening how easy it is, how much he still is the pet he was made into.

Pike strokes his skin with his thumb, scratches his beard with his fingers. Slowly, his gaze warms. “I’m still not sure I trust you, Tyler.”

“I understand,” Tyler whispers.

Pike lets his hand fall. Takes a step back. Tyler’s stomach flips, relieved and afraid that he’s failed, that Pike has seen through him.

“Care for a glass?” Pike asks, stooping to retrieve a bottle and the aforementioned glasses from a cupboard. “Real alcohol, not replicated.”

Tyler has never wanted a drink as much as he does right now.

 

Pike is serving whisky, strong and smooth. Tyler has always preferred beer, though it doesn’t quite taste the same to him anymore.

He feels like a schoolboy on his first date as he sits on Pike’s couch, tongue-tied and out of his depth. He’s not sure what he expects, but it’s not for Pike to start talking about ship’s operations. Tyler replies, haltingly at first, feeling like he’s being tested, but then more willingly.

Pike takes the conversation from _Discovery_ to _Enterprise_ to other ships he’s served on, from operations to anecdotes, and asking Tyler of his history in turn. Tyler begins talking about the _Yaeger_ , before the bad memories attached to it and the crew makes him change tack. Braver men and women than him died on that prison ship.

“When I was young,” he begins, putting his now empty glass down. “I served under an old captain who was convinced his ship was haunted.”

Pike snorts. “Haunted? By what? Real ghosts?”

“If you can believe it.” Tyler grins with surprising ease. “I once saw him make an offering to them in the engine room. And… I swear the next day it was gone.”

He’s not forgotten why he’s here, but if he can spend an hour – already? – speaking to Pike rather than do anything more physical, isn’t that only good?

Pike laughs, for the first time this whole evening. “What ship was this? I’ll be sure to steer clear of it.”

“The _K’eylat_.”

He realises what he’s said a second later.

It’s Voq’s memory, not Ash’s. The first and only ship he’d served on before he found T’Kuvma.

“Hey.” Pike puts his hand on Tyler’s.

Tyler looks down, forces himself to put on a rueful smile and try to play it off as something insignificant instead of the complete personality crisis it represents. “I think this stuff’s hitting me harder than I realised.” It’s not that; Pike’s only refilled his glass once.

“I guess it must get confusing sometimes.” Pike’s voice is sympathetic, completely devoid of the undertone of accusation that so often came with the subject.

He hasn’t removed his hand and Tyler watches it, feeling oddly unthreatened.

Pike shifts closer.

This is it. This is when it happens. Pike’s other hand returns to Tyler’s face, tilting it up. There is a second in which Tyler can change his mind, can turn, run and burn all his bridges on _Discovery_.

He meets Pike’s gaze long enough to be affirmation.

Pike kisses him. His lips are warm, whisky-tasting and _human_. Tyler shivers, tension he doesn’t know he’s carried leaving him. Pike isn’t Klingon, isn’t L’Rell. It’s just different enough that Tyler can do this. This one thing. Then he can excuse himself and leave.

He lets Pike work his mouth open. Kissing back is second nature, drilled into him during countless encounters. Pike seems to want to taste him, toying with his tongue and Tyler finds himself giving chase and being caught in turn.

His head is spinning when they break apart.

“I think…” Pike whispers as he turns his head to kiss Tyler’s neck. “…you’re an innocent soul, deep down.”

Tyler doesn’t have the presence of mind for a reply to that strange statement. Pike’s hands are all over him: in his hair, caressing his back, tugging at his collar. Tyler’s blood pounds in his veins, in his ears, between his legs, where he’s been too easily roused ever since his imprisonment.

_Wait…_ he attempts, but it’s swallowed before it’s voiced. Pike pushes him back on the couch, sets at him as if he intends to devour him.

And Tyler _can’t_. Not the weight on top of him. Not this, not with the sick arousal in his blood.

Pike must have noticed something. He sits up, looking down at Tyler with confusion. “What’s wrong?”

It hits Tyler: Pike hasn’t read his file. It had been classified before they met. He doesn’t _know_.

Tyler’s first weeks on _Discovery_ had been filled with pity and sympathy for poor, tortured Tyler. And Pike’s expression holds concern, but nothing more than that.

It is the perfect excuse. Georgiou had even suggested it. Pike would back off and Tyler could use his sympathy to postpone any progression, perhaps indefinitely.

And Pike would know just how weak and broken he’d been. Just how far he’d sunk to stay alive.

“It’s just… not very comfortable like this,” Tyler hears himself say.

Pike raises an eyebrow and says smoothly, “Shall we take this somewhere comfortable then?”

And he’s taken Tyler by the hand, led him into the bedroom and sat him on the bed. This is moving too fast, and Tyler hadn’t meant the _couch_ , but Pike is beside him now, guiding him fully onto the bed. Tyler doesn’t know how to stop this in a not-suspicious way, and even if he did, the moment they’re on the bed, Pike is kissing him again.

“Captain…” Tyler tries.

Pike rolls him on his back and nips at his neck.

Tyler groans, taken aback by how _good_ that felt. It’s a Klingon thing. It has to be. The anxiety spikes along with the pleasure and he forces himself to speak.

“Wait. Please.”

Pike raises his head, frowning.

Tyler is shivering, with arousal or anxiety he doesn’t know. He meets Pike’s gaze, completely out of his depth.

Pike’s expression softens. “Have you been with a man before?”

Tyler shakes his head. It feels like the truth. The man who _had_ died so he could be what he became.

“Never been with someone as big and strong as you?” Pike continues, mercifully lying down next to Tyler rather than on top.

He shivers, remembering L’Rell’s immovable bulk. He’s almost grateful when Pike begins to place gentle kisses on his brow, his cheek, his eyes. His fingers trace patterns under Tyler’s rucked-up shirt and it feels almost good, now that he’s no longer being pinned.

“I’ll be slow,” Pike whispers as he begins to pull Tyler’s shirt over his head. “I’ll be gentle.”

Heat spreads though Tyler, pooling under his skin, behind his temples, in his belly. He’s forgotten his escape plans and his anxiety, for the moment at least. Pike is skilled at what he’s doing, barely pausing in his gentle ministrations as he divests them both of their clothing.

Finally, he runs his palm down Tyler’s stomach, taking him in hand. Tyler gasps, a half-dozen incoherent memories flickering before his eyes as Pike slowly slides his hand over him.

They’re going to do this. They are far past the point of no return. Right now Tyler doesn’t care. Right now all he cares about it Pike’s feathery touch: teasing, exploring. Tyler has more than enough practice in surrendering, giving up and giving in. There doesn’t seem to be any question in Pike’s mind as to who will take what role here, and that’s just as good; the less similarities to what happened on the prison ship the better.

Pike is grinding slowly against Tyler’s thigh. He’s fit for a man his age, not that Tyler is surprised, considering their sparring session. What surprises him is the sheer focus of the captain’s gaze.

“Are you all right with this?” Pike murmurs, as he turns his attention further back, his fingers slipperier than they were a moment ago.

Tyler thinks of the mission and the importance that Pike trusts him, but he’s not certain it’s not the heat under his skin that truly motivates him when he nods.

Pike dips his fingers in, one and two and three. Just deeply enough to stretch, and all the while watching Tyler’s face. When Tyler winces in discomfort he receives a kiss to his neck, his chest. It’s not enough to keep the heat simmering under his skin, but enough to keep him distracted, until Pike kneels up and positions himself between Tyler’s legs.

“Ready?” he whispers and Tyler nods.

It’s distinctly different from how it had been with L’Rell. From how it had been with Michael or anyone in all of Tyler’s memories, apart from the classmate with the forgotten name. He breaks out in a sweat as Pike begins to breach him. Closes his eyes so he doesn’t have to look up at the captain above him. Digs his fingers into the cover. His body begins to burn, as if next to a blazing fire.

Pike rocks into him, deeper and deeper until Tyler is certain he can go no further. The stretch is just on the edge of bearable, the tissue too sensitive and his muscles too tense.

“Is it what you imagined?” Pike asks.

Tyler shakes his head, because he hadn’t imagined doing this at all.

Pike slides in the final centimetres, burying himself with a small groan. “It’s better than I did,” he murmurs, pulling out and sliding back in.

Tyler’s erection hasn’t flagged for a moment; whether that’s because of withstanding L’Rell or his Klingon physiology he isn’t sure. It serves him now, as it lets Pike take his gasping for passion and his closed eyes for absorption. Tyler feels feverish. He can feel Pike adjusting his angle every few trusts, hoping to strike Tyler’s prostate no doubt, but without success.

“I feel I’m not fully…” Pike pants, canting his hips before sliding back inside, “…reaching you, agent. Are you enjoying this?”

Tyler opens his eyes, alarmed. Pike has to believe this is real. “Of course.”

The captain adjusts his angle again, a small frown on his face.

Tyler does the first thing that springs to mind. He flips them over, quick as lightning and somehow without unseating Pike from inside himself.

Pike’s eyes widens in surprise as Tyler lands and impales himself, quite firmly, on Pike.

The shock of pleasure that tears through him is enough to make Tyler cry out.

He freezes, shocked. It _had not_ been like that at the academy. This was on a different level entirely. Frightening in its intensity.

Pike sits up like a flash, catching Tyler’s arms and pulling him close. “That’s more what I was hoping for.”

He thrusts up and tears a load moan from Tyler’s throat. What _is_ this?

“Please,” he whispers, uncertain what he’s begging for, whole body trembling.

Pike rolls his hips again and Tyler’s eyes roll back in his head. He rises just enough that he can slam himself back down, filling himself and sending that wave of pleasure though him. He is no longer worrying about Pike. No longer remembering L’Rell, his forgotten classmate, or even himself. His whole being is focused on the pursuit of _that_ sensation, over and over.

Pike’s hand is between his legs, Pike’s voice in his ear.

“Finish for me, Ash.”

Pike fills him to his core, slamming up in one final, violent thrust and Tyler spills all over himself and his captain.

It takes a long time for the aftershocks to settle enough to let him think again. His breath still comes in gasps, a little moan at the end of every one. He makes an effort to swallow them. His body is shaking violently.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting that.”

Pike, the bastard, sounds only a little out of breath. He runs a hand down Tyler’s back, drawing a shudder, before slowly rolling him off. Tyler can’t hold back a gasp as Pike slides out of him. His muscles are too weak for him to do anything but lay as he falls, looking up at Pike.

At least he did what he came to do.

The captain gazes at him, self-possessed and with a glint of knowing that sets Tyler on edge. “Did it go according to plan, Mr Tyler?”

“Did… What?” Tyler manages, brain not yet able to keep up.

“Section 31’s attempt to insinuate an agent into my bed.” He says it calmly, as if he’s remarking on a course correction.

“You came on to me!” Tyler protests immediately.

Pike’s expression changes then, becoming regretful. “That I did. And you changed your mind very suddenly. Did Georgiou put you up to this or was it your own idea?”

Tyler hasn’t felt this naked in a long time. His head is swimming with the aftershock of perhaps the most intense sex he’s ever had, and he doesn’t think he could navigate this conversation even completely sober. Pike had seen right through him. Had played along, taking his pleasure while seeing how far Tyler was willing to go.

The captain is as smug and put-together as he’d always been, leaning casually on his elbow. He reaches out to run a finger over Tyler’s sticky chest, and Tyler’s body is enough of a traitor to shiver pleasurably at the touch.

“You should think up a better strategy,” Pike murmurs, eyes on the patterns he draws on Tyler’s chest.

A great pressure is building inside Tyler. Shame, anxiety, fear and most of all embarrassment. He wonders if the captain will spread the story around, make certain to cement Tyler’s lacking character in the minds of the crew. The thought of what Michael will say when she hears is as painful as the shame.

And despite that fear, a large part of him only wants to close his eyes and stay here in bed.

“It’s not like that,” he mumbles. His arms feel weak as he pushes himself to his elbows, seeking to bring himself to a level with Pike.

Pike hmms noncommittally, meeting Tyler’s eyes again. “This isn’t the way to earn trust or respect, Mr Tyler.”

Tyler looks away, humiliated.

“That being said, if you want to do this again…” Pike leans in and kisses Tyler’s cheek. “But now it’s time for you to leave.”

Tyler gets dressed under Pike’s judgemental gaze. Coordination has almost returned to him by the time he gets to his boots. He runs a clammy hand through his hair, grimacing and hoping that he’ll make it back to his quarters without being seen. His clothes are sticking to him, the stench of sex clings to him. The feeling is uncomfortably close to when he’d been finally allowed to leave L’Rell’s cabin.

Pike follows him to the door. Making good on his promise to make sure Tyler won’t benefit from this and steal a look at something useful.

There’s something in Pike’s eyes before he opens the door. For a moment, Tyler wonders if the captain will kiss him again. Then, as he’s ejected into the darkened corridor, he wonders whether or not he’d like that.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry, Tyler... It's all Pike's fault!  
> ...does anyone else sort of miss PTSD-y Tyler from the first season?


End file.
